婦女性別空間概念用於十九世紀美國基督新教在華女傳教士研究之探討：並以美國聖公會為例

The concept of women's sphere and its application to the studies of Protestant women missionaries and their work in nineteenth-century China: taking American Episcopal Church as an example

林美玫(Mei-Mei Lin)

《國立政治大學歷史學報》 17期 (2000/05) Pp. 115-146

摘要

本文的主旨在使用晚近美國學者研究十九世紀美國婦女社會運動中所提出「婦女性別空間」的概念，來探討這個研究理論是否可以適用於十九世紀美國基督新教在華女傳教士的研究上。因此，論文的討論重心分為三個部分而且彼此環環相扣。論文第一部份的重點在介紹婦女性別空間的意涵，闡述學者對這個概念如何牽動美國婦女對自我的性別認識，以及學者對婦女如何將她們的性別空間擴展到社會和政治層面的研究心得。論文第二部份的重點在先論述學者對美國基督新教女傳教士在華事業研究成果，再嘗試以婦女性別空間的研究理論來檢視女傳教士在華的工作是否可視為婦女性別空間概念的運作、延伸和轉換。論文第三部份則將討論集中於美國聖公會的個案上。論述的主軸再細分為兩個部分。先檢討婦女性別空間的研究理論，是否適用於聖公會婦女與其國內教會組織的互動。之後，再使用該會在華女傳教士史料，舉出四例，對婦女性別空間概念是否能使用於女傳教士史料解釋上做初步回應。由於美國聖公會中國差會是基督新教自英國倫敦會馬禮遜在1807年入華傳教以來最早的九個新教傳教團體中的一個。該會也是美國傳教團體在華開拓事業最早的三個差會中的一個。因此，作者選擇用聖公會個案為例是具有指標作用的。本文的結論是婦女性別空間的確為十九世紀美國婦女投身於道德改革、慈善事業、禁酒運動和女權運動等各項社會改革的重要概念。此概念由基督新教女傳教士隨著她們在華事業的開展而傳播。女傳教士除了對中國婦女從事教義方面的教導外，也藉著傳教工作來進行自我調整、肯定和突破。此種歷程可以解釋為中美婦女性別空間的轉換。女傳教士與中國婦女，尤其是她們與中國女信徒之間，所建構的教會婦女團體，以及該團體與美國差傳總會婦女部門的互動，更對中國婦女的性別空間做了一定程度的啟發。綜合而論，十九世紀美國基督新教在華女傳教士不僅扮演文化特使的角色，也藉由宗教開啟了中美婦女的性別對話的管道。藉由婦女性別空間概念的介紹，與此概念相關美國婦女研究論述分析，和四位美國聖公會女傳教士史料的初步驗證，作者期待本文將有助於釐清女傳教士早期在中國的工作角色、性質、範圍和功能。除此之外，作者也希望經由本文討論議題的範圍和廣度，能為往後中美關係的研究、婦女與宗教的互動，以及基督宗教在華史研究方面提供了一個新的思考方向。

關鍵字

婦女研究 ； 宗教研究 ； 性別空間 ； 中美關係 ； 基督教 ； 聖公會

並列摘要

This paper is to discuss to what extent the concept of women’s sphere can be applied to the studies of the Protestant women missionaries and their work in nineteenth-century China. There are three major sections in this paper and each section is well connected with one another. In the first section, the focus centers on the question of what the women’s sphere meant to women in nineteenth-century America as well as how historians understand its meaning and explore its impact on American women at that time. From their gender network and their activities in moral reform, temperance, benevolent work and suffrage, it is undoubtedly that American women overwhelmingly took this concept to develop their women’s sphere as a separate sphere from that of men. More important, Christianity, particularly Protestantism and its evangelical character, empowered women to challenge men’s authority and domination in the sphere of public affairs. While living in the tension between men and women, purity, piety, virtue and benevolent femininity all made women distinctive and gave them strength to engage in women associations for different purposes as they saw fit. As a result, religion helped women justify their efforts to pursue gender identity and self-fulfillment. In the second section, the focus places on the question of whether or not American women and their experience from exercising the concept of women’s sphere can be applied to women missionaries and their work in China in general. I argue that women missionaries did continue this exercise in a conscious or unconscious way. More than that, women missionaries tried to extend such gender sphere from America to China. In fact, women missionaries virtually connected women and their gender spheres in both countries together through their missionary work. In the third section, I intend to use American Episcopal Church, particularly its four women missionaries to China, as the case-in-point, to illustrate the struggles that women had suffered as they carried their concept of a separate women’s sphere first from women’s network within the Church in the U.S. to women missionaries in China, and second from women missionaries in China to those Chinese with whom they were associated or tried to approach to. In conclusion, with the help of this interdisciplinary approach, American Protestant women missionaries and their work in nineteenth-century China can be seen as a group of emissaries in culture, gender and religion.

並列關鍵字

women studies ； religious studies ； gender studies ； Sino-American relations ； Christianity ； American Episcopal Church